National theatre of japan

The National Theatre of Japan, in Tokyo, was completed in October 1966. The design was selected on the basis of a nation-wide architectural design competition.

The theatre embodies traditional Japanese architectural concepts and resembles the 8^th century Shosoin Treasure Hall in Nara. However, instead of the wooden logs which typify its ancient predecessor, the National Theatre features precast concrete beams with artificial lightweight aggregate. The concrete surface was sand-blasted, then coated with special chemicals which produce the stable color of timeworn lumber. Eaves, the wall above the picture rail, and pillars were processed in the same manner.

The total floor space of the three-storey basement is 286,000 sq. ft. The theatre is equipped with all facilities necessary to the stage traditional classic Japanese theatrical arts, to train performers, and to collect, preserve and display research material on the traditional theatrical arts of Japan. The building houses two separate theatres: the main theatre with a seating capacity of 1746 and a small theatre with a seating capacity of 630. Other facilities include library, recording and videotape recording rooms, filming rooms, rehearsal room, control rooms, and parking lot.

EXERCISES

I. Read the text and follow the information.

II. Put 5 key questions to the contents of the text.

Round tower in sydney’s australia square

Constructed a few blocks from Sydney’s beautiful harbor, the Australia Tower, a 50 storey, 602 ft. high, lightweight concrete office building, dominates the business section of the city. The tower cost 30.24 million and was completed in 1967.

The tower, 135 ft. in diameter, provides an area of 14,225 sq. ft. per floor. A circular service core at the center incorporates all services, including 17 elevators in three banks.

Reinforced lightweight concrete was used for 88 percent of the project.

The structural spine of the tower consists of 22 exterior columns with a central service core made like a double-walled chimney connected with 20 radial walls forming 20 cells. Seventeen cells are for elevator shafts, and three are entrances to the service center core. The outside diameter of this circular wall system is 61 ft. 6 in.

Reinforced concrete was used throughout fir beams and slabs in the main system outside the service core.

Precast formwork — to form the outer skin of the columns and upturned and down-turned spandrel beams — was tied by bolts and welded stirrups to the monolithic on-site structures, which was cast against the outer skin. Plywood was used for the inner skin.

This tying-in procedure enabled the precast formwork, finished in white quartz chip, to become part of the stressed structure in the same way that reinforcing bars become stressed with the on-site concrete.

Lightweight concrete was also used for the basement and plaza slabs, which did not have expansion or shrinkage joints. The slabs were cast in three sections with shrinkage gaps for 4 months between placements. Then gaps were filled.

The tower’s first five levels are of flat plate construction for service flexibility and reduced floor-to-floor height.

EXERCISES

I. Read the text and translate it. Note the main building materials and structural elements mentioned in the text. Memorize them.

II. Give definitions of the following words:

reinforced concrete; beam; column; bar; structure; shrinkage; gap; flexibility.